Pages

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The TADA court today sentenced film actor Sanjay Dutt to 6 years of rigorous imprisonment. This has come as a huge shock to all his well wishers in the film fraternity as well as his family members. Just this morning, all his well wishers were pretty optimistic about his verdict and expected him to go free, as according to them he had already suffered enough, having served 16 months of jail term earlier. But, this verdict includes that jail time as well.The past 14 years of good behaviour of actor Sanjay Dutt, does not seem to have made any difference to the Judge presiding on his case. Judge Kode believes that he has not committed a minor offence and deserves to be punished severely. The public prosecuter in this case also is of the opinion that Sanjay Dutt was mature (31 years old) at the time of commiting the crime and that he would be very much aware of the fact that the AK56 rifle was a weapon of mass destruction!Sanjay Dutt has now requested Bail and also requested the court to give him time to surrender as he wished to meet his daughter! He said this to Judge Kode, " I owe you more than I owe my family".Court finds the Dutt's case was a grave one. Dutt's lawyers now likely to file petition for appeal in the Supreme Court!

The Long awaited verdict on Film star Sanjay Dutt, is out at last, just now. He has been sentenced to 6 years in prison! His bail bonds stands cancelled as per todays news report on Times Now. The judge has come down hard on the actor by not sparing him any mercy and giving him this harsh sentence.Earlier today, the whole film fraternity was there to give their support and were positive that something good would come today, but, guess all are to be disappointed.Of the The other people that were called along with him,Yusuf Nawalia has been sentenced to prison 5 years. Earlier, Russi mulla, the person who had also served the same charges against him got off on a probation period of one year with fine.Sajay Dutt, reportedly, will be taken straight to prison after the court hearing today.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Every year the monsoon brings with it a whole spate of viral, bacterial, parasitic and infectious diseases that cause havoc in the cities and the local hospitals are crowded with patients that are a burden to them! The most common diseases that affect the population with the onset of the monsoons are malaria, viral influenza, typhoid, chicken pox, conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, diarrhoea, dysentery etc …..! To add to all this the monsoon, these days, also causes flooding in the cities and low lying areas causing a sudden rise in the flood related water borne diseases like Shigellosis, Cholera, Hepatitis A, Leptospirosis, Typhoid Fever, Malaria and Dengue fever.

Vaccination is a highly effective method of preventing certain infectious diseases.
For the individual, and for society in terms of public health, prevention is better
and more cost-effective than cure. Vaccines are generally very safe and adverse
reactions are uncommon. A number of combined vaccines are now available, providing protection against more than one disease, and new combinations are likely to become available in future years. The common vaccines available range from the seasonal flu to typhoid, hepatitis A, B , chicken Pox and even pneumonia.

There are many ways one can prevent getting infected with water borne diseases. Simple steps like safe and clean drinking water, maintaining hygiene, eating healthy Vitamin C rich foods (fruits and vegetables), and cooking meat, chicken, fish etc. properly can prevent the more common diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, flu, gastritis and even hepatitis. Getting yourself vaccinated properly before the monsoon hits your city, can prevent other diseases like pneumonia, chicken pox, dengue fever, typhoid etc..! A vaccine to prevent malaria is still in its nascent stages, but the moment it is fully developed and ready to use, it could save millions of people from this much dreaded and painful disease.

To know more about water borne diseases, their prevention, treatment and vaccination here are some links providing more detailed information.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

The futility of the show which, unfortunately, must go on is quite evident. Ankita Mishra has proved to be the spoiler of the show - Indian Idol. Unlike average performances by the Idol contestants of the past two series, this girl has taken the stage by a storm. Ankit/Ankiteshwari/Anky baby was voted out by the other contestants quite obviously because of the, perceived then and real now, threat posed by her.She was brought in back again through the wild card entry, as the judges' choice and has not looked back ever since. The other contestants are looking like amateurs in front of her. The judges themselves are quite confused now and are wondering whether the contest is about performance, singing or both. The other contestents have hardly performed on stage and if idol is about an overall package all nine of the remaining ones and two idols of the yore have failed miserably. Ankita on the other hand performs and that too with oodles of innovation and freshness. Her singing is also always equal to the challenge and it leaves me wondering what the hell we are continuing the contest for. Ankita, in the course of her quest for the idol "KHITAB" has made all the judges dance to her tunes and I am talking literally. It all started with Udit Narayan, followed by Anu Malik and Alisha. Javed Akhtar who succeeded in holding himself back couldn't resist anymore when the girl was leaving, after having been voted out by the contestants. He too went on stage, perhaps knowing in his heart that she deserved better, and shook a leg to her singing. Now the latest with her on stage was Govinda. What more qualification do you need on your resume to be the idol?Public Votes? I don't think so. Ever since the electoral system was initiated in the country we have failed in selecting rather electing a leader who had it in him to do something for the people. If that is the response to selecting a government on whom depends the future of the country and the people, hoe many are really going to be serious about voting for Indian Idol.I seriously feel that Ankita should be declared the Indian Idol - 3, The true Bharat Ki Shaan immediately and the girl deserves it.

Here it is at last, the final showdown between Harry Potter the Wiz kid and Lord Voldemort. The Showdown between good and the evil culminating in the wonder kid becoming an adult. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final book in the series by JK Rowling is out. There have been speculations about people getting killed and i am sure i am not the first one out with the secret that Harry Potter Lives to fight another battle, which sadly will not be there. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the book has sold more than a million copies in one day in India. World wide the numbers are of course going to be much more awesome. The bookstore are running out of the copies faster than you can say JK Rowling. Do not sweat and buy it online here. Do not delay. GRAB YOUR COPY TODAY

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Bipasha Basu Kissed Ronaldo! Richard Gere kissed Shilpa Shetty! What’s so scandalous about it, I wonder? Isn’t it good? After all we come from the land of non-violence (Gandhigiri) and all? What, have you forgotten? Didn’t you see, Munnabhai 2 (Lage Raho Munnabhai)!

Why do we condemn people who are kissing each other? Forget the fact that they are kissing somebody else’s boyfriend or lover or whatever! Aren’t they “promoting peace”? See, we are now crossing international borders by kissing foreigners. That’s a really positive sign, as I can see it. In fact, I would advocate that all heads of state should follow this example and kiss each other when they meet, instead of merely shaking hands! And there should be free kissing permitted everywhere, the motto being “Kiss thy Neighbor” on all billboards! Imagine, the people all over would be indulged in kissing each other, wouldn’t be that bad now would it?

At least people would be busy kissing, instead of fighting with each other and throwing stones or killing each other over trivial issues. Bordering states would learn to love each other’s country and stop cross border “terrorism”! The ultimate solution or “War against terrorism” can be “Kiss thy neighbor!” So simple, aint it? So, let’s kiss and make up, or make out! Whatever! Let there be peace!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Yes! Looks like the day 7/7/7 was lucky for our Taj mahal too! It's finally and officially made it to the Seven Wonders of the World. At a glittering presentation ceremony in Lisbon last night, the Taj Mahal was accorded the coveted status for which voting had been going on with a lot of zest and great enthusiasm over the last few months. Looks like all that heavy campaigning helped in getting the monument the much deserved status. The new Seven Wonders of the World has a world wide attempt to select the top seven heritage sites in a method that was scientific and democratic. In India, the Bhaskar Group spearheaded the campaign to get the Taj among the new Seven Wonders. He says that it's a matter of great pride to every Indian that the Taj has earned its well deserved status.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Today, 7th day of the 7th month, of year 2007 is a rare day, one that you haven't experienced before, and won't live to see again! It's not just that the triple combination of the no. 7 that makes this day unique, it's also the fact that 7 is a number that has had historical and universal significance since time immemorial.So, is it lucky? What's with the no. 7? Why do we consider it lucky? Let's take a look.According to our astrologists, the presence of this number exists in almost all spheres of our lives, right from the sacrosanct "saat pheras" of marriage to the seven days of the week to the seven "surs" of musical notes to the seven planets and seven heavens!I've always considered 7 to be my own lucky number too, as I was born on 7th day of the third month in the year '70. So, when three 7's come together on one day, it must be a triple Bonanza! Not only that, also according to a renowned astrologer, today is the official beginning of the era of women! July, being the 7th month, falls in the Zodiac sign of Cancer, which is considered to be the mother of all Zodiac signs, therefore a woman centric zodiac! It's woman power all the way! I also consider the fact that my son was born in this month, as lucky! And indeed, a lot of good things have happened to us since he was born!My husband got his promotion two months after my son was born, and we bought our first car and generally things have been looking up steadily since then! We also booked a flat, that we had been delaying looking for, in the month of july.Therefore, they say that today is a fantastic day especially for those whose numbers are 2, 3, 5, and 7. There is a flip side too, this number also indicates sensitivity and vulnerability! So, watch out!Those born on this day - Wish you all the LUCK and best wishes!

Friday, July 6, 2007

Monsoon is here in our city of mumbai in full swing. And like every year, this year is no different. The whole city is filled with water the first day of heavy showers! Here are some snapshots of the city struggling to cope with the monsoons. People still go to work everyday and live in houses flooded with water! Trains come to a halt as tracks are flooded, buses and other traffic gets delayed in traffic jams. Vehicles get submerged in water and hundreds of vehicles get damaged due to the rains. The story is no different in other parts of Indian states. Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil nadu etc... all are reeling under the onslaught of these rains!Click on the images to enlarge.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

There is hope among the former stars of this sport, that the Bollywood badshah might revive the national sport with his new film - Chak de.

Shah Rukh Khan plays the role of a woman's team coach in this film. Former hockey players beleive the Bollywood Badshah might just score for the national sport.Hockey lags far behind the other sports like cricket, football and even tennis in the Indian popularity stakes. Our nation has been surviving on cricket for the last century (feels like) and we all were given a big blow when we got out in the first round of the much awaited "world cup" matches!

After this dismal performance, I think its time that India took stock of its other sports and tried to revive the interest of the public in them too. This film will definitely be a step in that direction and I hope it makes its mark by making the right people sit up and take notice and probably start something productive towards this end.

Our sportsmen are making their mark internationally in other disciplines, but the national sport is languishing. So there is all round appreciation that Bollywood has decided to do something about it. SRK and Chak De India might just be the shot in the arm that hockey so desperately needs, feel sports people who also follow films. It might encourage youth to take up hockey again.